PerreaultForever

I don't think so. I mean he might squeeze the Sabres for that number but he doesn't deserve it and it would be an overpay. The current market for top D man has pretty much been set in the 9 million range. McAvoy 9.5, Makar 9, Heiskenen, Werenski, Hamilton, nobody makes 10. Can't see any way to justify a contract higher than McAvoy or Makar.

The Pasternak deal certainly worked out for them. I wonder if he's now looking to make up for a little of that bargain pay as the Bruins haven't re-upped him yet and there is talk out of Boston that they are far apart and he might even walk after this year as a result. idk. Just rumours. The cap assumptions might play out, but who can say? Economy is in an iffy place. Inflation, cost of living, hockey revenues might suffer, you just never know. At the moment the Sabres payroll is super low as we all know and they can certainly afford this contract so we shall see how it plays out.

I didn't really watch Montreal much last year but I know the fans aren't happy with him and there was a lot of media talk in Quebec about it being a bad signing. Some trade talk too as a result. I think his defensive game was really bad and the effort level was questioned, but as you say, it was a horrendous season for them so you can't base anything on one year.

and at the moment, the Suzuki contract looks like a mistake.

Well I was trying to find comparable salaries. Miller's contract is the only current comparable and that was already discussed. I personally find it hard to compare Tage to other players since it was an oddly surprising season for him at a new position. I'm really not sure WHO he compares to if anyone in terms of style and play.

You're ignoring the fact that Skinner has never had more than 63 points. No matter how you look at it, he is grossly overpaid. I think Krueger caused covid, inflation and high gas prices too. It's his fault for everything.

It still comes down to one fundamental point and that is: it's based on ONE season. So, you can believe, as the Sabres obviously do, that he has developed and matured and that was his break out season and he will continue to play similar or perhaps even better hockey. If he does, it's a good contract and may become a great contract for the team . Or you can believe that he had a lucky fluke year and isn't really that good in which case he will be overpaid. It's a possibility. As a fan you won't want to believe in this possibility, but it is a possibility. Or lastly, you can be uncertain of what he will be (which I am) and so you can believe the contract was premature. So as a fan you end up hoping for the first but fearing the second. So I view it as a gamble. The stats can't disprove this as the sample size and body of work isn't large enough.

O'Reilly is an interesting comparison for obvious reasons but there's 2 big differences. One, he's near the end of this contract and has a proven track record of consistency and two, he's a 2 way center paid for his defensive prowess as well as his scoring stats. Tage has one season of solid offensive numbers. He MAY live up to this contract, but after Skinner, I guess I'm just reluctant to pay anybody after one good season.

So what you're saying is the comparables I listed are underpaid? I'm not really following the logic. Sam Reinhart puts up 82 points, he makes 6.5 million. Factoring in a small Florida tax discount it's a comparable salary so why doesn't Tage have to put up comparable points for those deals to have equal value?

So basically Tage has to match the performance(s) of players like Landeskog, Connor, Barzal, Nylander, Reinhart (maybe skip that one) and such for this to be good value. Is that a fair statement? If he's about a point a game guy it's a win but if it's less, how much less determines how much he's overpaid. Reasonable? Unless of course he brings new intangibles like he beats up thugs from the other team or something. Value you can't really measure statistically. We shall see.

I'd give them Rosen straight up. If they'd take it. Either that or picks down the road (not next year).

Because he's a consistent performer and a character guy. He's basically putting up a point a game and that will almost definitely continue so fans in Vancouver are happy he's staying. Having said that, with his age, they might regret the term if he drops off after a few years. Tage's contract will be a great deal IF (and it's a big IF) he continues to produce at the same level as this past year but the question mark, as you well know, is because it's based on only 1 year of that type of production so it is a gamble. Calculated, and possibly a good one, but still a gamble.

I "expect" him to do very well, or it's off to Rochester for the rest of his career as far as I'm concerned. It's time for him to show or go. What will he do? I have no idea. I still have my doubts on his work ethic, durability, effort and commitment level. Very happy if he puts those to rest this year.

At his age it's going to be much easier for him to pull a groin or wrench a knee or have more trouble recovering from a puck to the mask or other concussion type injury. Past injuries will also be weak spots. Unless Comrie can somehow carry a huge load, and play well enough in that role, goaltending will be the achilles heal again.

I think he's definitely better than Bryson and in the right system with the right coach I think he still has upside and more potential than Bryson. Long term you'd want to pair him with a shut down guy but imo he'd make us better. It sounds like he has issues with Gallant and maybe Gallant's hard ass approach so he'd probably respond well to Granato.

I'd say that's fair, but what if you could get him for picks or prospects? If you could do that, he would make us a better team than we are. I'd certainly pick up the phone and ask the price.

Anderson getting injured at some point is a more than likely scenario.

I'm hoping it's the third one. Not because of his poor play, but rather because the youngsters are just better. That's the hope I'm sure many of you share.

I have zero issues with this. He's still young and can still become much better than he's been. Never forget, goalies are weird.

Ya, there's question marks on all of them so I totally agree with this. None of these three have proven themselves just yet.

Well, imo it's a huge gamble and I wouldn't have done it (yet) so fingers crossed and here's hoping it works out. I'm personally not convinced he will live up to it consistently but, he could exceed it so again, here's hoping.

Contrary to what some people think I do not have a problem with the use of all these analytics and correlating all this data. Computers and programmers have revolutionized what can be done and you need to incorporate that into the mix. There is no way to humanly scout everything in person to the extent that these people can amass data. So you use it, and the Sabres definitely seem to have recognized that but other things still matter too. I'm not going to talk about Murray, he was simply a bad GM. In fairness to the argument though weren't Nylander's analytics good? He was fast, a good skater, scored at the junior level. I don't remember the analysis, I probably never looked at it, but I think analytical people had him ranked high. Similarly, JBot's picks were not all terrible and he seems to have combined other things in his decisions. I still believe in Cozens and think he was a good pick and his character definitely elevated him above his numbers. If I remember correctly analytics people thought Samuelsson was picked too high. He was supposed to not be a good enough skater and had flaws in his game that made the pick a reach in their minds. But he also had a work ethic and as we see, he's developing quite nicely. A good pick, so sometimes bloodlines work out and sometimes they don't. Is the current Sabres methodology good? Seems fine, but time will tell. I simply hope they haven't gone TOO far into the analytics and are not paying enough attention to personality, body type, character and so forth. A pick like Rosen makes me wonder about that. A pick like Kulich makes me think we're okay.

Overpaid for a 4th liner but he is what he is and will stay what he is. Until the trade deadline.

I'm thinking the league looked at the time they had the break and figured out it works. I think the players love it. If you're not in the tournament you get a nice little mid season vacation. The league probably also sees it as a time for injured players to heal and then after the tournament is that more intense run towards the playoffs. They get more people interested in hockey with the tournament and can keep marketing during the break. and obviously, it's just more revenue.

Wonder if they'll have Russians back in it by then?